Branches Steel Orchestra is missing its first ever Carnival since the event started 49 years ago

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 WBUR


Boston, Massachusetts, USA - Boston’s Caribbean Carnival parades are just around the corner, and one would expect that the bandleaders of such beautifully costumed mas — or masquerade — bands Soca & Associates and Misfit, or the symphonic steel sound of Branches Steel Orchestra, would be at their mas camps busily making final preparations for both the afternoon Carnival and early morning J'Ouvert parades down Blue Hill Avenue on Aug. 27.

...Branches is missing its first ever Carnival since the event started 49 years ago. At the heart of many of the absences is the long-running strife between bandleaders and the Caribbean American Carnival Association of Boston (CACAB), which presents Boston Carnival, billed as the largest BIPOC celebration in Massachusetts. The conflict comes down to the leadership of CACAB’s president, Shirley Shillingford.

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